Engineering dominates Graduate Starting Salaries

Students graduating from engineering courses are likely to be amongst the highest graduate earners, according to The Times Good University Guide 2015.

The Guide, which is due for publication in October 2014, lists “salaries by course” and six of the top ten highest graduate starting salaries are engineering disciplines.

The top engineering discipline, and second on the overall salary list, is Chemical Engineering at £29,582, followed by General Engineering at £26,362, Mechanical Engineering at £26,076, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering at £25,343, Electrical and Electronic Engineering at £24,639 and Civil Engineering at £24,524. Top of the list is Dentistry with an average starting salary of £30,395.

Law came only 47 out of the 66 courses with a starting salary of £19,598. Bottom of the list was Creative Writing at £16,903. The average overall starting salary is £21,982.

IET Chief Executive, Nigel Fine, explains: “It’s very encouraging to see that graduates beginning their engineering careers are starting on such good salaries.

“There has never been a better time to be an engineer: demand that far outstrips supply, competitive graduate salaries and fantastic career prospects are typical characteristics of the engineering profession today.”

The IET’s 2014 annual Engineering and Technology: Skills & Demand in Industry report highlighted that 51 per cent of employers said they were recruiting engineering staff this year and that 59 per cent of companies indicated concerns that a shortage of engineers would be a threat to their businesses.